Power consumption calculations FX5900 + lots

Mnementh

Golden Member
Jul 16, 2003
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Long one sorry:

Specs:

Athlon XP 2400+
Geforce FX5900
A7N8X-Deluxe
1 GB RAM Corsair
2x80GB SATA Seagate Barracuda HDD's
2x80GB ATA 133 HDD's
2x40GB ATA 100 HDD's (Raid 0)
2x20GB ATA 100 HDD's (Raid 0)
Generic IDE raid PCI card (Promise I think)
Sony DRU500A DVD +-RW
550W PSU (Can't remember manufacturer think it was Antec)

My issue is I have just been given an FX 5900 to replace my aging Ti4200 however when I put it in the machine the PC powered down whenever trying to play any 3d games or run any benchmarks.

OK I though... Driver issue... Upgrade drivers to the latest WHQL version and also try 60.82... Same problem.


Next thought Windows has been giving me grief recentlyas I haven't given it it's quarterly reinstall (actually managed to get away with 6 months before reinstalling!!) so I put a spare HDD in and installed a fresh copy of XP yada yada yada so on and so forth... Ran 3DMark03, instantly all the fans stop working and the PC switches off (although it's actually still powered just nothing runs)

Next logical step I'm sure you're all screaming out is PSU!

So I removed all the HDD's except the boot drive and yay benchmarks run and I can play UT2K4. OK just in case it was a glitch I started adding HDD's back in and running the benchmarks, as soon as I added one more drive it switched off again... removed the drive and everything works perfectly.

So my question after all that waffle is does anybody have any power consumption figures for the components of my system (I used to know a website which listed them unfortunately I haven't been able to find it again) or could somebody work it out for me as I don't want to go and waste money on a new PSU that isn't going to be able to cope with the demands I will be putting on it. The only thing I can assume is that my current PSU is unable to supply a decent current on one particular rail.

Sorry for the length, if anybody needs more information just ask.

TIA

Mnementh
 

PliotronX

Diamond Member
Oct 17, 1999
8,883
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What are your voltages like? I believe the 5900/9700+ class cards use an alternate 5V rail through the power connector on the back of the card, so it makes sense that the hard drives would cause this as they draw from the 5V rail IIRC. If you can find out for sure if it's an Antec PSU, they have a great RMA service and you should go for an RMA if it's under 3 years old. A 550W Antec should power that system without too much trouble. First what I would try is moving the vid card's alternate connector to a different and less loaded or better yet a dedicated cable.
 

Mnementh

Golden Member
Jul 16, 2003
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Thanks for the reply, I've just got home from work and checked the PSU it's actually a Q-Tec (I've never heard of them before so I assume it's a no-brand POS)

I wish I could try the card on another cable unfortunately I already have 4 Y-splitters on the feeds to power everything. I have a feeling I'm gonna have to order a brand name PSU but thats why I wanted some power consumption values so I can make sure it's capable of running everything as I have a feeling looking at everything in my PC that the +5V rail is WAY overloaded.

The voltages are slightly low in normal use (although it's now switching off during normal use as well) though I would put them within tolerance. The power off is so sudden there's no warning so I can't check the voltages at that time ie there's no sudden dips in voltage and then power off.

/me goes browsing for a PSU, thankfully he has another 3 machines he can use for that...
 

Matthias99

Diamond Member
Oct 7, 2003
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Thanks for the reply, I've just got home from work and checked the PSU it's actually a Q-Tec (I've never heard of them before so I assume it's a no-brand POS)

Ding ding ding! We have a winner!

I've heard nothing but complaints about Q-Tec. Avoid like the plague. The fact that you had 4 Y-splitters should have been tipping you off a bit -- better quality power supplies include more connectors, since they actually support that many devices.
 

McArra

Diamond Member
May 21, 2003
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A good quality 450+W PSU should do it just fine (Antec, Enermax, Thermaltake...)
 

Mnementh

Golden Member
Jul 16, 2003
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Originally posted by: Matthias99


Ding ding ding! We have a winner!

I've heard nothing but complaints about Q-Tec. Avoid like the plague. The fact that you had 4 Y-splitters should have been tipping you off a bit -- better quality power supplies include more connectors, since they actually support that many devices.

Heh yeah I had figured that that's always been a problem with living in the UK our choices in some things are so limited... Brand names for things like cases and PSU's can be hard to come by, the only one I've found so far is a 350W Enermax which is nowhere near good enough. Does anybody have any opinions on Hiperpower or Meridian PSU's? they seem to be the only ones I can get over 400W

Mnementh
 

Matthias99

Diamond Member
Oct 7, 2003
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Originally posted by: Mnementh
Originally posted by: Matthias99


Ding ding ding! We have a winner!

I've heard nothing but complaints about Q-Tec. Avoid like the plague. The fact that you had 4 Y-splitters should have been tipping you off a bit -- better quality power supplies include more connectors, since they actually support that many devices.

Heh yeah I had figured that that's always been a problem with living in the UK our choices in some things are so limited... Brand names for things like cases and PSU's can be hard to come by, the only one I've found so far is a 350W Enermax which is nowhere near good enough. Does anybody have any opinions on Hiperpower or Meridian PSU's? they seem to be the only ones I can get over 400W

Mnementh

I've heard good things about overclockers.co.uk, and they seem to have a decent selection of name-brand power supplies. Looks like the carry Antec, Enermax, and Sparkle (under "Other"). Those are all very well-regarded brands. The Zalmans are also supposed to be pretty good (and very quiet).
 

Mnementh

Golden Member
Jul 16, 2003
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Thanks Matthias

I've put my order in for the Antec Trupower 550W. I can't believe I forgot about that site, I used to use them for everything a few years ago.

/me shakes his head in bewilderment!!

Heres to some decent gaming when it arrives, need to find some decent games now haven't played any for a while. Any recommendations gratefully received :)

Mnementh
 

Mnementh

Golden Member
Jul 16, 2003
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Yay new PSU is in and everything is working.

/me looks forward to plenty of gaming goodness